MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis says it is working to close what used to be the Camp Nenookaasi encampment due to a recent stomach flu outbreak.
Camp Nenookaasi, which had roughly 160 residents, was cleared earlier this month. The city cited a number of reasons for the closure — including a fatal shooting in December. At the time of the closure, the city said 104 people had been connected to housing and shelter.
Some of the residents packed up and moved their belongings a few blocks south of the original encampment, to 14th Avenue and 26th Street. By last week, there were 110 residents at the new site living in about 20 yurts.
Since then, the state reported 20 to 30 cases of viral gastrointestinal illness to the Minneapolis Health Department. Commonly called the “stomach flu,” it is spread by person-to-person contact and through infected food. No one has been hospitalized, the city says.
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